Raul Lozano Satisfied by Iran Preparation for Olympic Qualifier

Iran will face powerful oppositions such as Australia, Canada, China, France, Japan, Poland and Venezuela in the Round-Robin tournament. The best Asian team along with the three top-ranked teams in the tournament will get the tickets to the Rio 2016 Olympic Games.

“Other teams do not have enough preparation,” Lozano said. “Even though our team do not have enough friendly matches, it is also the same for other teams. Most of the European teams are still involved in their club leagues, so they have not started with their trainings and will not have enough friendly matches with other teams. For the time being, these trainings we are having now are good for us,” the Argentine told FIVB.com.

“In general, the team is in good condition. Right now, only outside spiker Mojtaba Mirzanjapour and Amir Ghafour are ailing with a spasm and a toothache, respectively. Middle blockers Adel Gholami and Mohammad Mousavi have already recovered from their injuries and are already training. Actually, none of the players have a major injury,” Lozano added.

Lozano was critical in his selection of players that will make the team in this international season.

“I am completely familiar with the players,” Lozano said. “In the past months, I had each player under my consideration. I know how each of them performed in various positions. I have seen all the videos and I have analyzed them. I selected them based on their performance in the league and their work-efficiency.”

In terms of strength, Lozano believes that their attack and defence are strong, but he also gave some points that the team needs to work on.

“The team is doing well on attack, reception and defence at the net,” Lozano said. “We should improve our coordination between blockers and receivers. We should also work on the high balls.”